and Beane & Company made like Charlie inside Willy Wonka's Garden of Goodies as they grabbed a little bit of everything. Without any compensatory draft picks this year, the A's have only nabbed the standard 6 players total. It's looking like a nice little haul so far. Here's a recap:
1st Round - Jemile Weeks , 2B, University of Miami
Like most moves Beane makes, I initially did not like this pick, and I'm still not completely in love with it, but I can see where Beane is going with Jemile. When I think of Week's potential I immediately think of Chone Figgins. I could see Weeks developing into a Figgins-like player especially with his speed, switch-hittng ability and athleticism that should allow him to play both 2nd base and the outfield in the majors. Like Figgins, Jemile will not hit a lot of homers, but he's got a nice line-drive swing and enough speed to really wreak havoc on the basepaths. He'll take his walks and hit for a high average and therefore get on base a lot. He'll also play adequate 2nd base defense.
Contrary to what some may say, I doubt that "signability" was a reason Beane chose Weeks. I really do think that Beane believes that Weeks is the 12th most valuable player in this draft class.
2nd Round - Tyson Ross , RHP, University of Califoria
I really like this pick, not the least because Ross was born and raised in Oakland proper. But I also really like Ross's upside. His stats, especially from this season, won't jump out at you, but his freshman and sophomore seasons were strong and he dealt with some non-arm-related injury issues earlier this season that probably affected his performance.
Ross is a big, tall righty starter with a three-pitch repertoire: 90-95mph fastball, good slider and changeup. He's incredibly athletic and Baseball America lauded him for sticking with Team USA all summer while guys like Matusz and Crow ditched the team after the first few competitions. His intangibles are strong. He's new to pitching and his mechanics are somewhat concerning, as he doesn't really follow through all that well with his pitching motion. He's relatively new to pitching, so his mechanics could probably be tweaked fairly easily. One assessment I read awhile ago labeled Ross an intriguing prospect as he's "got the upside of a high school arm but with the experience of a polished collegiate product."
3rd Round - Preston (Petey) Paramore , Catcher, ASU
Good, solid catcher. Can't have enough of those around in the system. He won't be a superstar, but as a defense-first catcher that won't embarass you with the lumber and is durable enough to stay behind the dish long-term, he will definitely have a positive impact on the organization.
4th Round - Anthony Capra , LHP, Wichita State University
Don't know much about this guy. I initially though he was a reliever, but after checking his stats, I realized that he was moved into the rotation this season. He's gone 9-0 so far this season with a 2.87 ERA and an 87-30 K-BB ration in 75 innings. Without a real dominant heater (he sits 89-91), he seems fairly average to me, but then again I don't know much about him and the A's might see him as a reliever anyways, where his stuff might play out better.
5th Round - Jason Christian , SS, University of Michigan
Jason seems like a solid little middle infielder, somewhat like last year's pick Josh Horton. He's a right-handed throwing lefty swinger that controls the strikezone well (39/36) BB-K ratio that has put up a nifty 1.012 OPS this season for the Wolverines, with 26 extra base hits in 194 at-bats. Like Horton it seems like Christian might eventually need to move to 2nd base, as he sports a less-than-stellar .938 fielding percentage at short. Unlike Horton, Christian has some speed and good instincts on the basepaths as he's swiped 16 bases in 18 attempts. He also pitched a little bit last season for the Wolverines, but I'm thinking that the A's will be drafting him as a position player as he got absolutely hammered every time he's taken the mound.
6th Round - Tyreace House , OF, College of Canyons
This guy came out of nowhere. He was drafted by the Braves in the late rounds of both the 2006 and 2007 drafts. BA says that the A's might have reached a little bit by picking him in the 6th round this year, but says that he's a former track athlete with a ton of speed. He seems to be a raw product as he was formally highly-recruited high school running back; so I'm guessing that Beane is betting that the kid can develop into a power/speed center field combo guy. Could take awhile to see him in the higher minors and majors as he probably be spending a lot of time in the instructional leagues and rookie-league teams.
So overall, day one has been very interesting. Weeks could be a Rickey Henderson-like exciting leadoff guy and could make it to the majors within a few years, while Ross could develop into a 2/3-type starter with a little tweaking in his mechanics. Posey, Capra and Christian all seem like solid, polished products that could move quickly through the system and become average major leaguers while House looks like a potential 5-tooler. It's quite a mix. Who knows what Beane has up his sleeve for tomorrow!
1 recs | 161 comments
Collin Cowgill 168 to D'backs.
He was one of ours last year. I remember making fun of his name.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
Also, are we really going 10 today?
I was under the impressing that the max was 5.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
well, says what I know.
first day was 5 rounds last year, though.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
A Michigander!!?!
Hurray!! This calls for a CELEBRATION!
The Dogfather - June 5, 2008
A Californian?
Hurray!! This calls for a GAME OF TETRIS!
Zonis - June 5, 2008
I'm guessing you've never ...
... waded through an April snowstorm in Ann Arbor. ;-)
The Dogfather - June 5, 2008
I saw how good Jason Christian can be first hand...
...last year when I was working as a writer for Vanderbilt University Athletics while completing a master’s degree. The Commodores came in sporting both last year’s No. 1 overall pick David Price AND this year’s No. 2 overall pick Pedro Alvarez, they had won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles, were the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and were hosting a regional for the first time in program history in front of raucus Nashville crowds. Christian went 5 for 11 in Michigan’s three games against Vanderbilt, with 4 RBI’s 2 runs and 3 walks, and displayed the kind of grit that can more than make up for a lack of pure superstar talent. As much as my heart was broken last May, I am thrilled to have him in the organization…
EastVillageA - June 6, 2008
6th rd......Tyreace House
athleticsBB4life - June 5, 2008
Who?
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
college of the canyons. looking for stats.
a JC in palmdale, i think.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
Watch his video
On mlb draft tracker. He squares to bunt on one pitch, then swings away at the pitch which is over his head. Looks like it fell in for a single.
sprtsnwyn - June 5, 2008
That would be lovely
if I could use MLB draft tracker…
This is so **ing frustrating.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
You aren't missing much
Just the entire draft.
sprtsnwyn - June 5, 2008
looks like a RH version of Matt Lawton
athleticsBB4life - June 5, 2008
Wasn't he good once?
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
maybe...coulda been the roids
athleticsBB4life - June 5, 2008
stats stats stats.
slash: 348/428/462/890
31/35 sb, 11 2b, 2 3b, 2 hr
27 bb, 25 k, 184 ab / no errors in 43 games
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
Position?
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
OF
Had his warmup video in left.
sprtsnwyn - June 5, 2008
49th round pick
last year for the Braves.
sprtsnwyn - June 5, 2008
OF
athleticsBB4life - June 5, 2008
3 sports in HS (football, basketball, baseball)
recruited by Oregon, UDub, Oregon St., UCLA, Fresno among others for football…
looking for 07 stats, which were apparently better than this years.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
that wasn't hard.
07: slash: 403/470/590/1060
9/10 sb, 9 2b, 3 3b, 4 hr; 15 bb, 23 k
38 games.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
Aren't juco stats pretty worthless?
I mean, it’s more competitive than HS ball, but not by much.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
a step up, but yeah.
I’m still trying to figure out why he didn’t go to UDub for football… he averaged 25 yards/catch at Palmdale his senior year, and had an offer.
Didn’t even play football at CoC, and apparently a BCS-level talent… but finding nothing is better than finding a run-in with the law.
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
I'd rather find a run-in with the law
It’s what got the A’s Corey Brown…
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
Still cant believe Hunter from Pepperdine hasnt been taken
Love the A’s to take a flyer on him. Was a first rounder till injury.
Also Harold Martinez (HS 3rd baseman) lets try some high upside guys even if they bust they are 7th and 8th rounders but if they hit HUGE potential.
Pay them 3rd round $$ and lets roll the dice …
Well see but I am not holding my breathe
Bud Light - June 5, 2008
No
We must help the Vancouver Canadians, um, defend their 2nd place finish from last year.
Or was it third.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
Thames too
His season was comparable to the very best hitters in the draft (the very best hitters in the draft.) I understand not wanting to use a first round pick on him. He only had the one big year and the scouting reports don’t match the production, but to not go in the first five rounds…I’m getting pretty frustrated. A torn quad isn’t that serious an injury. He’s supposed to be ready to play in about a month.
31Boots - June 5, 2008
+1
We drafted Smoak and didn’t pay him, then he goes to collage and now we are paying for it. Lets take a chance!!!!!!
ebradley - June 5, 2008
satin to NYM
athleticsBB4life - June 5, 2008
sorry SAINT
athleticsBB4life - June 5, 2008
mets are gobbling up everyone saint wants...
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
AINT'S it the truth?
Nico - June 5, 2008
Dammit!!!!
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 5, 2008
Satin
isn’t A
iglew - June 5, 2008
's a nit.
oblique - June 5, 2008
Satin
Josh Satin. Teammate of Ross at Cal.
149 - June 5, 2008
oh look at picture....
Josh Satin
149 - June 5, 2008
Sorry Saint
The Mets drafted Satin.
149 - June 5, 2008
From BA on our 6th rounder
The A’s went for speed with the 12th pick of the sixth round in former track athlete Tyreace House of JC of the Canyons. He’s one of three Canyons players expected to be drafted, though he wasn’t expected to be a first-day draft pick.
Bud Light - June 5, 2008
Tyreace can't hit, field, or throw,
and he’s crotchety as all get-out, but man can he come up with the correct diagnosis of a rare illness that has everyone stumped.
Nico - June 5, 2008
has everyone *stumped*?
I thought the A’s weren’t letting Larry near the bone saws anymore.
monkeyball - June 5, 2008
I know - I wish I had NEVER gone to see him
for my canker sore. I really miss my left leg.
Nico - June 5, 2008
James Shields doesn't really miss Coco Crisp's right leg
monkeyball - June 6, 2008
Shields did miss him with a right cross.
The Dogfather - June 6, 2008
soxyankeescubsdotcom described it as a "roundhouse"
... with which description I have to agree.
monkeyball - June 6, 2008
A's ignore Saint again
Satin picked up by the Mets so…
Zonis - June 5, 2008
We all ignore Saint why wouldnt the A's
LOL Ray Ray
Next Wednesday day game? Let me know
Bud Light - June 5, 2008
Is it a day game?
I think It’s a night game…Gary D is throwing down a BIG tailgate.
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 5, 2008
So is day 1 finished?
sprtsnwyn - June 5, 2008
don't know, can't listen.
they could be taking a break, but they went 5 rounds last year, so… perhaps. (it’s also 9 est.)
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
I think that's it.
No need to post a whole new diary I guess.
Taj Adib - June 5, 2008
so, uh,
when does it start tomorrow? is it 8:30 pst?
Jjjsixsix - June 5, 2008
This might seem silly to most
but I am really excited that the A’s drafted an African American with their first pick. And I think he is gonna be a real soild big league player as well. Everyone should relax a little and enjoy the picks the A’s made because I don’t think (from all appearances) that any of them look bad. I’m pretty sure Beane is heading in the direction of a small ball, speed oriented, contact hitting team…......value the undervalued before it becomes devalued, per say? The other picks besides Weeks look decent but not eye popping
Right now, the Raiders are looking like they will be one of the most improved teams this coming year 2008 and although most “experts” claim that the Chiefs had a better draft, the Raiders will be the better team next year and could really be better than most people expect. Mc Fadden not “the best player” but definitely the most exciting and most likely to have an immediate impact to his team. Sorry for the tangent, folks…...Go A’s!!!!!
mrod - June 5, 2008
3 out of 6 picks were Afro-Amercan:
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 5, 2008
Does this mean Beane will no longer acquire the token aging veteran OF black guy?
(This is one of those times where I feel obligated to mention I’m totally joking, because some people are so damn touchy)
thejd44 - June 5, 2008
HOW DEER YUU RAG ON
FREENK THUMAS AND JEE PEETON??
(This is one of those times where I feel obligated to mention that I’m totally serious.)
Nico - June 5, 2008
I see you spent the off day working on the typing skills
Impressive. I wanna see you keep that up for an entire game thread.
thejd44 - June 6, 2008
It is silly
I would think you’d be pleased if the A’s drafted a good player no matter where he or his ancestors originated. Would you be less excited if he were African-Canadian like Ferguson Jenkins?
Monday Fan - June 6, 2008
I'll add what I can to the scouting reports
I may end up writing a diary about Weeks and Taj has done a good job pointing out the essentials on Ross and Paramore.
4th Rounder Anthony Capra became a full time starter this year, so his arm is fresh and he could have some projection left in him. He keeps his fastball down and has a plus change-up. Inconsistent curve, might switch to a slider because of his arm slot.
5th Rounder Jason Christian is solid with the bat but more importantly is expected to stay at SS in the pros. One thing to (maybe) worry about… he had some early season back issues possibly due to long airline flights.
grover - June 5, 2008
Weeks
I read somewhere a few weeks ago that if Weeks’ last name was Smith, he’d be a 2nd or 3rd rounder. I forget who said it (though I think it was Law or Sickels), but the implication is that Weeks is only a first rounder because of his brother’s pedigree.
That’s not my opinion, but if true, I don’t like the pick. Of course, I can’t imagine Beane would be fooled by that sort of thing so maybe the very fact that the A’s picked him suggests that’s not true.
thejd44 - June 5, 2008
It's not "foolish"
A lot of athletic ability is genetic. Not all of it, obviously, but if one guy in a family can do something, the odds are better than usual that his siblings or children can as well.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
Agreed
But the comment was meant to suggest that people were banking on the genetic factor a little bit too much. I wasn’t criticizing the pick, though some certainly are surprised by it.
thejd44 - June 5, 2008
So did Weeks go after Daze,
but before Munths?
Nico - June 5, 2008
I don't know, but at least he's Hours.
thejd44 - June 5, 2008
Touche.
And a minute tip of the hat to you. Anyone want to second it?
Nico - June 5, 2008
I think the A's are banking on "we hope he'll develop power" a little bit too much
but that’s just me.
Either that or they think that everyone’s power has dropped off so much in the post-steroid/post-juiced-ball/whatever era that players don’t need it to be elite anymore.
Yes, I recognize that those are completely contradictory positions…
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
I may very well be that...
...the game was so distorted in the past 5-10 years due to PED’s that the standard idea of how to build a team isn’t really applicable anymore.
rageon - June 6, 2008
+1
Travis Bucks, Bartons and Weeks’ are the future(?)
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
sickles
i remember sickles mentioning that he likes weeks, though more as a late 1st round guy.
dbeach13 - June 6, 2008
Tyson F'ing Ross!!
It is positive for the A’s that the Bears were knocked out in the Super regionals. College managers can burn up arms on the road to the CWS championship in Omaha. They want to win now, not protect the kids’ arms. Cal’s early demise is the Oakland A’s gain.
He has a funky follow-through but they can straighten that out on the farm. This is a great prospect, remember how fast Brandon Morrow came up to the show after leaving Cal??
And a local kid. Sweeeeeeeet!!!!
ExGiantsFan - June 5, 2008
This is definitely true
Erik Davis was pitching on two days’ rest for Stanford last Monday (and got predictably shelled in the process).
The NCAA really needs to put in a rule. Pitch more than 2 innings, and you sit for four days. Period. No exceptions.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
That rule is called a "Yabu"
Nico - June 5, 2008
High School as well
Both levels need to have some kind of rules in place. A friend of mine, who was once one of the top 5 player in my state, was explaining how he went from Mr. Baseball consideration to not playing—3 complete games a week will tend to destroy an arm.
rageon - June 6, 2008
10 innings per week...
That’s the limitation for players in the Central Coast Section (San Francisco, Santa Clara County, and down to King City).
That may be a CIF rule (all of California), but I’m not sure.
That said, the point stands. An innings limitation is less sophisticated and probably less effective than a pitches limit or a mandated two days off would be in preventing injuries.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
High School
I should’ve specified that CCS and CIF are high school designations.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
When are HS games played?
Because if it’s like college, where games are typically condensed into a three game series over Friday, Saturday and perhaps Sunday, a weekly limit wouldn’t do a whole lot for you …
devo - June 6, 2008
No, they are always staggered
(Grain of salt: All of my experience with high school baseball is Santa Clara County, Central Coast Section)...
Most leagues play two games a week, either Tuesday/Friday or Wednesday/Friday, with some Saturdays sprinkled in. The most competitive one (West Catholic Athletic League) has a few three game weeks, too.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
That's their "league" season
Their non-league games are scheduled by the coaches/athletic directors themselves and they can play whenever they choose to, except Sundays of course.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
Ross
I’ve seen him pitch a couple of times and I’ve talked to several scouts about him (not our scouts, those for other teams). The flaws in his delivery were pointed out to me, and even I could see them. Hopefully they are fixable. The impression I got was that if he continued to pitch with the same motion, he’d blow out his arm sooner rather than later.
The feeling I got was that if a guy is winning at the college level, no one is very anxious to make any changes in him, even if they could result in a longer playing career, or if not changing things could result in injury. It’s a shame that no one is there to advocate for the player at that level.
A few weeks ago I discovered that the young man sitting next to me at an A’s game was Tyson Ross. We talked a bit and he expressed how much he’d love to play for the A’s. He must be floating 10 feet off the ground right now. (And, I already have his autograph!)
skigurl - June 5, 2008
I've seen Ross pitch about 1/2 dozen times
or more. I’m almost as big a Cal baseball fan as A’s fan. Almost. And I’m a RAF… so the Ross pickup is cool for me… but sincerely worrisome from the standpoint of the young man’s mechanics. Now that the A’s have drafted Ross, maybe Drivline Mechanics will analyze him.
Do I have pics? Of course I have pics! These are from 2007 Season
No drop. No drive. All shoulder-elbow. Slingshot.
Follow through HAS improved since 2007. But still a problem.
More on Ross HERE.
149 - June 5, 2008
Speaking of odd mechanics
This comparison will probably get me laughed off the site and/or committed by sympathetic family members, but… Jemile Weeks and Ichiro?
Weeks is one of the very few college players I’ve actually seen play this year. He has, for lack of a better term, a very “Japanese-y” swing that immediately reminded me of Ichiro when I saw him. Enough so to make me wonder whether the style was a deliberate choice.
Now, obviously he doesn’t have Ichiro’s freaklike contact abilities. There probably isn’t anyone else on the planet who does, so not a lot of shame there. But the mechanics seemed pretty similar to me, and likely to produce similar results. Lower contact will give Weeks more strikeouts and more walks; weaker contact will probably give him a lower batting average.
Perfect world scenario—he matches Ichiro’s EqA with a lower batting average but similar steals and a few more walks and extra base hits?
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
Is it possible to fall out of the batters box on your way to first mid swing, as Ichiro does,
from the right side of the plate?
OldhamA - June 6, 2008
Hm, yes, he is right-handed
That makes me suspicious of my recollections of that game, because my “mental image” is batting lefthanded… so take the above with a grain (okay, a pound) of salt.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
Weeks is a switchie
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Similar to Ichiro ...
his swing almost looks like it slows down when it’s moving through the hitting zone …
But in the scouting video on mlb he’s not falling off to first from either the left or right side …
devo - June 6, 2008
A question that might be too early to have answered
But, based on history, do the A’s ever sent any draftees right to Kane County or do they wait till the low A and rookie league seasons start? I’ve never actually paid real close attention to that.
Since I’m covering the occasional Cougars game these days, I’m wondering if I should get excited about some fresh blood (Because, really, there’s no more than a handful of guys at KC that are very intriguing).
thejd44 - June 5, 2008
I believe Carignan was assigned to KC last year
Demel went to Stockton but dropped down a level quickly; Doolittle and Horton moved up from Vancouver quickly.
That said, unless the player is willing to sign for slot money at the drop of a hat, I wouldn’t expect them to report before July or so.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
Yeah, I wasn't expecting anything immediately
But I’ll be doing games throughout the summer, mostly depending on my schedule and when I have some free time. I’ll post here though whenever I do a game (next one is Father’s Day) with thoughts on what I saw.
thejd44 - June 5, 2008
mid-summer
I went to a KC game last summer (in August, I think) and Horton and Doolittle were both with the team.
colin - June 6, 2008
Weeks said he will be ready to go as soon as the CWS is over
He knows he was overdrafted and he’ll take what the Beane-Counter gives him.
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Simmons bypassed Vancouver ... and Kane County ... and Stockton ...
he was assigned straight to AA Midland—and has performed admirably.
Weeks will more than likely start in Kane County—it’s conceivable he could even go straight to Stockton. His bat sounds like it’s ready to play … and I figure a ground ball in Stockton or Kane County is just as easy to boot as a ground ball in Vancouver …
I wouldn’t expect Ross in Kane County. He’ll either head to Vancouver or - conceivably - not pitch at all this year, keeping him from pitching too much until they get the mechanics worked out. They’ll probably promote him aggressively once the mechanics are in place.
Paramore could get an aggressive assignment, as it looks like he’s ready for it defensively and his bat probably more or less is what it is …
BTW, having a handful of intriguing guys at a given level is a pretty good thing …
devo - June 5, 2008
I would not be at all supprised if they simply sent him right off to Instructional League
to work on his mechanics and such. Look what wonders it did for Italiano.
And once CAL is eliminated, Ross will probably sign very quickly.
Zonis - June 6, 2008
Our Young Arms Need a Good Defensive Catcher:
I expect Paramore to move up quickly. Then dead end in Sac for 10 years until he breaks Crash Davis’s record of games in the minors.
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
That would be cool
But I think Petey has “the next Rob Bowen” written all over him.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
Well, since the original will be a free agent by then...
maybe not such a bad thing.
I like backups who make pitchers throw a lot of pitches. About the best thing a #9 hitter can do is waste 6 or 7 pitches from the other team’s starter and shorten his outing by a hitter or two. That’s why I have such an irrational liking for Reggie Willits.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
Willits is a useful 4th or 5th OF
Just like Bowen is a useful backup. Of course, I think Bowen should get a smidge more playing time just to keep Suzuki fresh.
thejd44 - June 6, 2008
Backup catchers
are also usually more known for their D, like Petey is.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
Taj Adib
A huge, huge thank you for your work today. You deserve a paycheck for your AN draft contributions all day long.
If you’re just getting to the site tonight/tomorrow, Taj updated each of his stories several times today as new information came in. We basically had a full-time beat writer covering the action for us, only with the added benefit that we could chime in.
Yet another reason that this is an excellent site. Thank you Taj!
notsellingjeans - June 5, 2008
Hey, I helped -
I read some of it throughout the day.
Fine: Thanks, Taj!
Nico - June 5, 2008
Agreed
As bad as it was to not be able to follow the draft…like, anywhere… at least AN kept me promptly posted on the A’s own picks.
Thanks, Taj.
PaulThomas - June 5, 2008
Taj...
Thanks for letting us know who got drafted and for posting your opinions on the draftees. Please keep it up.
IM4Oakgal - June 6, 2008
Brett Hunter
seems like a nice pickup at #214 overall for the A’s, as Baseball America has him at #51 overall. Injury concerns, but at this late of round, worth the risk.
rageon - June 6, 2008
Barfield
I guess this might be one reason he fell so far?
Zonis - June 6, 2008
Kyle Long is Still There
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
That a guy you really like?
grover - June 6, 2008
Definitely!!!
He’s a first round talent, but he will most likely go to College. I say draft him and pay him 1.5 to come to Oakland!!!
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
I agree
I’d have the Brinks trucks lined up outside the Coliseum… just pay them whatever they ask for, it’s peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Maybe you can negotiate them down a little bit, but the team agents should have essentially unlimited authority to settle on terms.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
You can get 12 Kyle Longs for One Barry Zito!!!
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Well, if he's some one you like
don’t expect the A’s to draft him!
grover - June 6, 2008
One More Name:
Matt Gorgen – RHP – Cal, His Twin Brother went on the first day.
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
This guy went #405:
Erik Davis
I would have liked him in green and gold, but I like all of the speedsters that we are stockpiling.
I hope that the fences in Fremont are 420 feet from home plate in every direction!!!
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Then we'd have better have a hell of a defensive catcher ... those passed balls are going to roll a long ways ...
devo - June 6, 2008
Well If Landon Powell continues to gain weight, he will be a built in
backstop
theblackpearl - June 6, 2008
Apropos of that earlier convo about bloodlines,
did anyone else catch that quip (was it in the B-Pro chat?) about him? Something to the effect of “Yeah, you really need to check the physiques of people that these players are related to. Stories of Landon Powell’s dad are still legendary.”
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
I'd love to say I thought he would succeed in the pros
Nice story and whatnot.
Well, who knows. Maybe his average numbers are the result of too many outings where he had to pitch on 2 days’ rest…
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
He also had 4 complete games to start this season:
It could be that he was overworked too fast or can become a rh reliever.
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Kyle Long Going To College?
I guess he doesn’t need the money…
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Four years from now,
on the blog for the team that signs him in some later round, the fans are going to be complaining: “If only our cheap-ass front office had offered him the $x million that he wanted, he could be ours right now.”
iglew - June 6, 2008
Close...3 Years From Now The Team That Doesn't Sign Him:
Imagine IF Beane had given Smoak the extra 50 grrrr…We’d have Weeks and Smoak!!!
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
Brett Hunter
What are the odds that Hunter will sign w/ the A’s? I would hope that Forst & Company called him last night to tell him that they are going to dratt him in the 7th round (if available), and if we did, how much is it going to take to sign?
They drafted Schlereth last season, and according to the player, the A’s never contacted him.
Colorado Fan - June 6, 2008
You know, that is technically illegal...
I know teams secretly contact players all the time, but technically, it’s tampering.
The A’s certainly aren’t going to be chatty about it if they did.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
Yeah
They sure were stealthy about the Jeremy Brown pre-draft shenanigans . . . It’s not like it was in a book or something . . .
BlameChannel53 - June 6, 2008
so you're saying billy beane should never have written that book?
xbhaskarx - June 6, 2008
Terrible book that he wrote -
I haven’t read it, but still.
Nico - June 6, 2008
I'm just saying, they can't come out and be like
“Yeah, we talked to him the night before, and he’s cool with it.”
It’s like treason—it’s a crime that’s really hard to prove unless you’re silly enough to actually confess to it.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
Long is GONE:
He was snared by the White Sox…
Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - June 6, 2008
I remember when these words were cause for celebration.
Monday Fan - June 6, 2008
Uh ... Charlie?
Charlie was the good boy, who only took a sip of fizzy lifting fluid, and returned the Everlasting Gobstopper when remonstrated by Herr Wonka.
Plus, any A’s-related mention of anything Wonka that doesn’t compare Lew to an Oompa-Loompa isn’t worth the pixels it’s printed on.
monkeyball - June 6, 2008
I agree with a few others who posted...
that these are the rounds where I’d love to see the A’s draft high school guys who are planning to go to college…and then entice them with several hundred thousand over slot.
That’s where I’d like to see an additional five million pumped in. Not really at the top of the draft with a guy like Cole (Yankees), because you haven’t diversified your risk.
But I’d love to see 5-7 extra million spread out over 10 middle-rounders who have much more helium than the prototypical 12th rounder and such.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
I would be worried ...
that doing that would drive up the price on our 3rd – 8th (or something like that) round picks who think they deserve significantly more money than a 12th round pick …
devo - June 6, 2008
I did not think of that
You are smarter than me.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
But...
My wife is my picture and yours isn’t, you loner. Take that.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
devo is married?
xbhaskarx - June 6, 2008
IIRC
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
I thought he was "between" relationships right now...
(Also, the solution to devo’s problem above: Sign the picks downwards, not upwards. And have independent negotiation lines going. That way, worst case scenario, the player is miffed at the individual scout who signed him, not the entire org.)
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
I always found the notion of
being “between relationships” intriguing. I mean, how do you really know…?
Unlike being between two sheep, which is one of my favorite things: A ménage a baaaaaaa!!!!!
Nico - June 6, 2008
The problem with that ...
is that it’ll make it much harder to get it done with those late, difficult to sign picks if you put off signing them, especially with the new, quicker deadline.
devo - June 6, 2008
Why would I need to sign the sheep?
Nico - June 6, 2008
I imagine you're much more focused
on branding your products than signing them.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
You do not remember correctly ...
devo is single.
devo once had a very serious girlfriend who he may have from time to time referred to as the Future Mrs. devo but it did not work out as they had planned at the time …
devo - June 6, 2008
she concurs?
theblackpearl - June 6, 2008
she does ...
devo - June 6, 2008
that was what I was remembering
I apologize.
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
No worries ...
it’s been a year … I’ve moved on …
devo - June 6, 2008
Miami is playing on ESPN right now
So those who haven’t seen Weeks yet can do so.
Speaking of which… man he’s tiny. Really tiny. I know you don’t have to be big to be a good baseball player, but he just looks like a child out there.
thejd44 - June 6, 2008
Kind of like... Ichiro?
[ducks to avoid incoming cream pies]
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
I didn't say the body type was unheard of
It’s just a little surprising to see a guy that small as a top pick. That’d be kinda neat if he were Ichiro-y.
thejd44 - June 6, 2008
Ichiro is black, too?
monkeyball - June 6, 2008
If I'm already rooting for him to be the next Kenny Lofton (statistically),
It’s a small jump across onto the Ichiro bandwagon with you.
Is he being budgeted for CF? Thoughts? How’s he look defensively, other than the funky arm action on throws?
notsellingjeans - June 6, 2008
They say he has good range and inconsistent hands ...
devo - June 6, 2008
"That's what she said"
Nico - June 6, 2008
I'm still at work, so I can't see the current game
The game I saw, he had 2 plays in the field that I noticed. One was a very odd play where he waited back on a ball instead of charging it because its path was close to intersecting with the runner’s, but waiting caused him to ultimately have no play; the commentators thought he should have charged it and forced the runner to stop or run into him and get called out on interference. In the other play, he ranged a long way to his right (past second base) and dove for a ball, but didn’t come up with it and probably had no play if he had.
From this I gathered two things: he’s not great on the backhand (he was playing very close to the middle of the field compared to “standard position” for a second baseman, kind of like Swisher used to play way off the line at first), and his fielding instincts are not fabulous. He’s going to have to improve his process to stay at second. I think he’s more likely to end up in center.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
Incidentally
the first one of those was almost exactly the same play that happened in the A’s/Braves game (Hudson pitching) just prior to Ryan Sweeney’s first home run. I remember this because it struck me as really weird to have two almost identical funky plays happen in games I watched in the space of about a week.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
He singled and stole second so far ...
took a called strike, swung and missed at strike two, took a called ball and then put an outside pitch back up the middle for a solid single. He didn’t show a terribly impressive eye and I’d suspect with wood it wouldn’t have been hit hard enough to get through.
He then stole second. Got a really good jump, but didn’t look that fast. It was close at second (though the throw wasn’t caught so it didn’t matter).
devo - June 6, 2008
A's draftee Preston Guilmet is pitching in that game for Arizona
so he and Weeks were actually going head to head there.
PaulThomas - June 6, 2008
He made Alonso look pretty silly ...
but also allowed a couple of hard hit balls …
devo - June 6, 2008
Guilmet = future reliever
Unless Arizona won’t let him pitch more than 5 innings for some other reason
thejd44 - June 6, 2008
He averaged nearly 8 innings per start last year and over 6 innings this year ...
devo - June 6, 2008
They were saying how he hasn't gone past 5 innings for some length of time
Maybe they’re just keeping his workload down.
thejd44 - June 6, 2008
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